Like we always say, more power = more heat + driving hard = even more heat.
Not many know this better than professional drifters. Many Formula Drift cars push upwards of 1,000 horsepower (which is no easy feat in itself) – making a 1,000HP car reliable, and keeping it out on the track consistently is a whole different story.
It was back in 2013 when Michael Essa won his first Formula Drift championship, completely cooled by CSF products.
…And that’s how CSF got recognized in the world of drifting.
It’s been ten years since we took our first shot at the drift scene – back then, we’d partnered up with OG race team, Bergenholtz Racing, to provide cooling for their Mazda RX-8. Little did we know, that was just the tip of the iceberg.
2021
Fast forward to 2021, and sh*t has hit the fan. There’s a global pandemic going on, Toyota is putting BMW engines in Supras, and multiple Formula Drift champions are running CSF.
To top it all off, the BMW-powered A90/A91 Supra market has completely exploded and we can’t keep our B58 4-Piece Cooling Packages on the shelves. Before we knew it, our Supra products were all over the world – cooling some of the most notable and highest horsepower builds in the game.
All the buzz prompted us to start developing our most badass product yet – a full billet Intake Manifold with built-in High-Performance Charge Cooler.
Papadakis Racing
Around the same time the Supra buzz commenced, Papadakis Racing entered the picture with CSF.
As a one of the most respected builders in the drift scene, Stephan Papadakis knows the importance of “good” cooling systems – not only systems that get the job done, but heavy-duty products that can stand the stresses of harsh environments and extreme driving.
From start to finish, he’s the man behind the FD-spec cars driven by Jhonnattan Castro, Ryan Tuerck, and Fredric Aasbo.
We first partnered up with Steph to supply a hefty intercooler for Fredric Aasbo’s A90 Supra for the 2020 Formula Drift season – it survived the compacted 2020 season schedule with flying colors. Later on down the line, he called us up for advice on an auxiliary radiator, and that conversation led to a full-fledged partnership, eventually resulting in CSF becoming the official cooling sponsor of Papadakis Racing.
For the 2021 season, Papadakis Racing opted to use two of our Heavy-Duty Bar/Plate Intercooler Cores to create the Supra’s custom intercooler.
Steph was able to find a width and depth that worked for the build within the twenty different sized cores we keep in stock here at CSF. To get the desired height, the team went with two of our CSF #8046 “High Boost” Bar/Plate Cores – one full size (25″x12″x4.5″) welded together with one cut in 3/4, for an overall size of 25″x21″x4.5″. With custom fabricated end tanks, the setup keeps the 1,200HP B58’s intake air temperatures in check.
Because of the large front mount intercooler setup, Papadakis opted for a rear-mounted radiator. For 2021, we worked alongside Steph to develop a larger, custom-spec triple-pass radiator core and end tanks which they are now working to fabricate in-house at Papadakis Racing.
We met up with Steph to do a deep dive on the Supra and its cooling system, and also get a shop tour of Papadakis Racing.
With the 2021 Formula Drift season kicking off next weekend, the cars are already on the way to Atlanta and we can’t wait to see how the Papadakis team does.
#StayCOOL
